Humanitarian crises

An aerial view shows a tank, left behind by regime forces, on the road leading to the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhun, in the northwestern Syrian Idlib province, on Dec. 1, 2024.

Explosion kills 4 in Syria’s Idlib: What to know

Syria remains littered with the waste of a Cold War arsenal and 14 years of civil war.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel meets with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir in Juba on Aug. 13, 2025.

Israeli envoy meets South Sudan president as Juba denies Gaza resettlement report

Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, visited South Sudan amid reports that the two countries are discussing resettling Gazans there.

Demonstrators gather during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli universities, tech firms, cities to join strike over Netanyahu’s Gaza takeover plan

An increasing number of institutions and businesses are allowing their employees to join the general strike planned for Sunday, in protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/08/trump-tacitly-backs-gaza-city-offensive-netanyahu-plays-time

Analysis

As Trump tacitly backs Gaza City offensive, Netanyahu–army rift widens

An exchange last week between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top general suggests that the Israeli premier himself does not believe in the plan he is touting for Israel to take full control of Gaza City.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

6.1 earthquake strikes northwest Turkey, killing 1 and injuring dozens

Turkey earthquake

After Hamas ban and deadly ambush, Gazans wary of GHF aid jobs

People carry boxes of relief supplies from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as displaced Palestinians return from an aid distribution center in the central Gaza Strip on May 29, 2025.

Interview

Israel’s former Germany envoy: Arms embargo 'warning sign' of growing isolation

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel's Vietnam: As Netanyahu pushes Gaza City takeover, military warns of endless war

A young boy stands next to his bicycle as Palestinians check the devastation following an Israeli strike that hit Gaza City's southern al-Zeitoun neighbourhood on August 8, 2025. Israel's military will "take control" of Gaza City under a new plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, touching off a wave of criticism Friday from both inside and outside the country. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

TOPSHOT - Migrants walk in the sea to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of Gravelines, near Dunkirk, northern France on April 26, 2024. Five migrants, including a seven-year-old girl, died on April 23, 2024 trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain, local authorities said, just hours after Britain passed a controversial bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

Cyprus is favored route for thousands of Syrian migrants escaping Lebanon

Nearly 60 times as many people, mostly Syrians, are leaving Lebanon by boats en route to Europe when compared with last year — a number expected rise in the next few months during peak migration season.

Humanitarian aid is dropped on the Gaza Strip, west of Gaza City, on March 25, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas, with the background showing Israel's Rutenberg power station near Ashkelon.

US military halts Gaza humanitarian aid pier, citing weather

A US defense official told Al-Monitor the pier remains on schedule, but an agreement to have workers with the UN World Food Programme distribute aid from the pier remains under intensive negotiation amid significant security concerns.

Youths gather atop an elevated area in al-Zahra in the central Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

Dangers for Palestinian aid workers stall deal on US-built Gaza pier

Israel’s role in providing security for the maritime endeavor has raised questions over the safety and neutrality of the Palestinian aid workers involved.

Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns listens during a hearing with the House (Select) Intelligence Committee in the Cannon Office Building on March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC.

CIA chief arrives in Egypt ahead of Hamas delegation for Gaza talks

The arrival of CIA chief William Burns to Cairo may indicate that not all is lost, as Washington keeps pushing for Hamas to accept the hostage release deal.

AFP via Getty Images

Interview

EU envoy says Israel cannot condition Gaza humanitarian aid on hostage deal

EU envoy to the Middle East process Sven Koopmans said Israel cannot condition the expansion of humanitarian aid in Gaza on reaching a hostage deal with Hamas.

Sven Koopmans

Sven Koopmans

EU Special Representative for Middle East Peace Process

People walk past trucks carrying humanitarian aid that entered Gaza by truck through the Kerem Shalom (Karm Abu Salem) border crossing.

‘Bracing for the worst’: Aid groups draw up Rafah contingency plans

The uncertainty surrounding Israel’s threatened ground offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah has made it difficult for aid groups to prepare for their own evacuations.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Blinken Bibi

Blinken meets Netanyahu, pressures Hamas to agree to cease-fire deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the rounds of senior Israeli officials on Wednesday after stops in Amman and Riyadh.

TOPSHOT - A Palestinian looks at the damage to buildings after Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

With clock ticking in Cairo, Netanyahu ups threats, cancels war cabinet meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to enter Rafah regardless of the outcome of the current negotiations with Hamas.

EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/AFP via Getty Images

As Egypt expresses optimism, how Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal could look

As Israel and the rest of the world wait for Hamas to respond to the latest cease-fire proposal, new reports suggest that Israel will agree to a reduced number of 33 hostages to be released in the first stage.

ABIR SULTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel braces for ICC warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant

Israeli leaders have confirmed concerns that the International Criminal Court in the Hague will issue international arrest warrants over the Gaza war.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2-R) arrives for group photo with (L-R) Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

Israel war cabinet meets as Egypt proposes three-phase Gaza cease-fire plan

Reports suggest that Egypt has taken the lead on a new round of talks with Hamas and has presented Israel with a fresh proposal for a hostage-release and truce deal.

People rush to landing humanitarian aid packages dropped over the northern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

US military begins construction on humanitarian aid pier off Gaza

Mortar shells rained down on a section of Gaza’s coast on Thursday, underscoring the risks inherent in the Pentagon’s plan to rely on the Israeli military to provide security for humanitarian pier as the US seeks to stave off famine.